It was a cool evening on the 21st of April when my good friend and brother Julius sent me a request that left me in total shock. He had taken up a challenge to be physically and mentally fit and wanted us to climb the highest mountain in West Africa – Mount Afadja – on Monday the 24th! We had just started his fitness journey a few weeks back and planned to hike Mount Afadja towards the end of July. But Julius had a different idea. He said, “Michael, time waits for no man, and I’d rather go and fail and learn from it than wait. I am mentally ready to push myself to the limit and do hope you can find time to go with me.”
With my plans for Monday already set, I was torn between going on this unexpected hike and sticking to my original plan. But a rare request from a friend who is giving his all to be the best he can be deserves all of me. So, we left Accra for Afadjato at 4 am on Monday and arrived at 7:56 am, ready to conquer the mountain.
At the start of the hike, Julius seemed fine, but after just 10 minutes, he started breathing heavily, and I knew it was going to be a very long day. But I had to reconfigure my mind to be patient, calm, and lead. As the hike went on, the rest breaks became more frequent, and the energy and confidence Julius started with waned. I saw defeat in his eyes and body language. At about halfway into the hike, I looked back only to find my friend crawling on his feet and hands, struggling to keep up. The ground was wet, the soil loose and filled with small stones and rocks, making the crawl hard and painful to watch. Yet, Julius refused to give up.
When we got to 664 meters, Julius sat down and said he wasn’t going up nor down. I was confused, did he mean we were going to sleep in the bush and not return home? The next thing I knew, he got frustrated and cursed at me like a woman in painful labor cursing at her partner. But I smiled and said, “It’s okay. Hit me even if you want to, but I am here for you, and we will find a way.” At this point, Julius had resigned himself to failure, but I reminded him that he had the power to conquer himself.
Suddenly, as if the invisible angels had descended from the heavens to whisper into his ears, Julius got up and said, “I shall not be defeated. This is the best thing for me, and I have to conquer myself. I choose to live the best life I can, so Michael, let’s go!” With a newfound determination, we started climbing again, and the summit was in sight.
Julius kept roaring like a lion while pushing himself through pain. We finally made it to the top, and what a relief it was! We had a good rest at the top, took pictures, and started our descent. But the descent was even more grueling. Julius was very fatigued, winded, and his legs were giving in. He fell about eight different times and crawled longer than a snail would to a romantic date. But we never gave up.
As we safely descended with a sense of accomplishment, pride, and most importantly, “His Why” question answered, I couldn’t help but think of my school’s (St. Augustine’s College) motto, Omnia Vincit Labor” — Perseverance Conquers All.”
Julius succeeded because he persevered, and we should never give in, quit, and settle. Let’s continue to evolve by pushing ourselves to the limit, and surely we will find success and fulfillment.
Live Smart.
Love Always
Michael
